Bruce and Maisel
by egrant94
Summary: Midge and Lenny finally wake up.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just like everyone else it seems, I'm reeling over ****_that_**** episode of 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'. Until we get more episodes, here is my take on what happens when Midge and Lenny FINALLY wake up!**

The sunbeams, of course, are what wake her up first. The pounding in her head was louder than Shy's band, and it felt like there was a sock in her mouth all night. The body next to her was comfortingly warm though; a different warmth than the beating rays coming in through the window. She briefly considered the second bed in the room. It was now covered in yellow teddy bears, she could remember that much at least.

The aforementioned body next to her moved and shifted, one of their legs coming up between her legs, a heavy arm clutching her tighter around the waist. She knew enough to know that she still at least had her underwear on, so at least she didn't fully take Carole's advice to heart. Although if she and this stranger were back in Midge's room, she supposes that Carole's advice wasn't heeded at all.

Midge resisted turning her head until she couldn't stand it anymore. There was an ounce of regret and probably a gallon or two of curiosity resting somewhere under her ribcage. It was that overwhelming urge that finally made her shift her eyes slightly to the left and see what mistake was wrapped around her like her favourite cashmere sweater.

When she did eventually look, the feeling that filled her chest was almost worse than the one that had occupied it moments before.

_Lenny Bruce was in her bed._

If you believed what the papers said though, Lenny Bruce was always in her bed.

But she always knew that the rumours weren't true, and he knew that they weren't true, and yet here he is; in her bed. His arm was a heavy weight around her waist, and his scotch stained breath ran down her neck like it was looking for her weak spots. Clearly he had already found them, or she found his; that was just as likely.

She felt an incredible want to wake him, but she also _kind of _wanted to stay here forever. If she was being completely honest with herself (which she _never is_) she's wanted to wake up next to Lenny for a long time. It was like he took a bit of her with him that night when they first met. He slipped a joint into her purse and stole away a piece of her heart like a magic trick.

Rolling over, Midge rested her head on his forearm, feeling it press harshly into her head from its place under the pillow that they were sharing. She pressed the heel of her foot against his calf; not enough to wake him, but enough to make it through his sleepy thoughts. She watched his sleeping, line and worry free face. All the stress, all the 'act' was gone for now. For now, he was just Lenny.

The guy that she might have been falling in love from that moment she watched him walk down the stairs at the police station.

She had only been watching him for a minute or two when Lenny's eyes started slowly opening. There was no recognition at first. For the briefest of moments she could tell that to him, she appeared at first as a stranger laying next to him, then perhaps a dream.

They stared at each other in silence for what could have been an eternity. Time passed outside their small fort of blankets, but neither noticed. Midge's thumb moved slowly until it brushed his bottom lip; her fingers grazed his jaw with feather light touches.

His hand moved from her waist up across her arm, and kept going until his hand was in a similar position to her own. He pressed fingers into her soft, pale skin and teased at flushed patches of warmth. The smirk playing on his lips was almost enough to make her lean in and brush their mouths together.

They stared.

And stared.

Until finally, she spoke, "I can't think of anything funny to say."

He sighed and finally let his mood pull up on the edges of his mouth.

"Yeah, me neither," he adjusted slightly and squeezed her shoulder. "It's kind of nice, isn't it?"

Her gaze could have lit up all of downtown. Her smile in that moment may have had enough wattage to power all of Vegas. His heart beat so fast under her hand that she could swear there was a marching band running around in his chest. The thumping against her hand spoke the words she was worried they would never have the chance to say.

"Are you going to say it, or am I?" his question came out smoothly, echoing her thoughts like they were connected with a wire.

"What the fuck happened last night?"

"What the fuck happened last night?" he repeated her question with a laugh in his voice. "I remember running into you in the casino. You just had-"

"I had a fight with Joel. He came to visit, made me feel bad about being away from the kids for so long..."

"We had a _couple _drinks," they both laughed at the understatement. The insistent pounding in both their heads was enough to confirm that they had more than a couple. "And then maybe a couple more."

"Then we went for a walk. I remember putting on your suit jacket when we got outside." her left hand came up to rub at her aching head. The pain was finally enough to cause action.

Lenny snatched her hand from her forehead with more aggression than Midge was initially sure was necessary, but then she saw what caught his attention. There, on her ring finger, sat a shining new diamond ring that she'd never seen before. Or at the very least she hadn't ever remembered seeing it before. Lenny however, looked like he knew exactly what was resting on her perfectly manicured finger.

Midge took a moment to process, then started getting up from the bed. Lenny looked at her disappointingly at first, but then nodded in understanding. This was more than a drunken hook-up, or at least it seemed to be more than that. It _was _more than that, but it might also be _more _than that.

Midge seemed unaware of her state of undress as she looked around for her bag from the night before. Lenny got up from the bed as well and tossed his dress shirt at her, deciding that she would rather be covered than worrying about her makeshift robe being his dirty shirt.

"Here," there was a small stack of pictures on the small dining table across the room. Midge picked them up and knelt on the bed as she threw them down one after another. "I guess that answers the ring question anyway." she sat on her foot and looked up at Lenny while he looked at the photos. "At least it is real; Mama knows."

"I should hope it is real," Lenny was still looking at the pictures. One in particular seemed to catch his eye. "That's my mother's ring your trotting around with, Maisel."

"Bruce."

She couldn't resist the tease. Their blissful morning had a cloud hanging over it that neither was aware of until now. Until Lenny noticed the ring, Midge had thought that maybe that morning would mean a new beginning for them. He looked so happy when he saw that it was her laying beside him, and her heart still felt like bursting at the feeling of his fingers grazing her cheek.

"I'm sure that's what the registration says," he passed the photos to Midge and sat on the edge of the bed. He was bare chested, boxers still on as he ran his fingers through is mass of bedhead.

They looked radiant and happy in the photos Midge held in her hand. Some showed them kissing cheeks, one was her showing off her ring. The one of them looking lovingly at each other made her pause for a moment. She paused again of the shot of them kissing with uncontained smiles.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she hadn't realised the words came out until she saw the barely perceptible nod of his head. "I was incredibly happy when I woke up this morning."

He turned his head just enough so that she could see his small smile.

"Sorry to have fucked it up." he nearly whispered the words. Had they not been the only ones in the room she might not have heard what he said.

"I don't think you did," she walked with her knees towards him and rested a hand on his bare shoulder. "Look, I know this isn't ideal, but…. But I think this could be a good thing."

"What are you trying to say, Midge?"

"I'm saying that… I know we don't know each other very well yet. I know that I just got divorced like, last week, and I know explaining to people, especially my parents will fuc-"

"I don't know why either of us is so surprised," he turned and grabbed her left hand, holding it between both of his, "there's always been a… thing… with us. Figures we'd finally bite the bullet when neither of us were looking."

"Well according to these photos we were both looking just fine."

"You always look fine, Mrs. Maisel; lovely even."

"Bruce." she looked down at their joined hands and back at his face. "I'll still use Maisel as my stage name. I've grown a following and a reputation with that name. That name is how I met you. But until further notice, I'm Mrs. Bruce."

"It would actually be Mrs. Schneider. Lenny Bruce is my stage name, Mrs. Maisel."

"All these names…" she pretended that she was going to faint, a set of actions that he had been too distracted to see.

"Can I tell you a secret?" he moved an arm to wrap around her waist and pulled her closer. He was still sitting half off the bed, but moved a leg so he was facing her almost fully. "I was really happy when I opened my eyes and saw you looking back at me."

"What do you feel when you look at me knowing I probably forced you to marry me last night?" her nose scrunched up when he laughed.

"We were always going to end up here, Midge. Everyone already thinks we are sleeping together."

"I guess they are still wrong about that if our state of dress is any indication."

Lenny looked down at the two of them with her nightie and his boxers still on. It was a sure sign that they hadn't gotten up to anything that he would regret missing for the rest of his life. She was right of course. Ever since that night at The Gaslight people have been asking about their relationship. It hadn't quieted down since, but anytime they are spotted talking or having a drink, the questions start again.

"We could fix that you know?" he leaned in to kiss her cheek, nudging at her with his nose. She let out the most girlish giggle he had possibly ever heard and it made him laugh in return.

She moved her head until their mouth lined up together. He felt her exhale and saw her lips pull up into the most perfect smile. He felt lucky for the first time in his life, and he was hardly the type to let such luck go without a fight.

Then the phone rang.

Of course.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This chapter is a bit shorter than the first one, I know! I just figured that this scene kind of needed it's own chapter. Hope you like it!**

"Welcome, everyone, to the Phoenician Hotel." Midge stood just off stage, looking over her dress and shoes while listening to the announcers get the audience ready for the show to start.

"90 seconds," Zack, one of the hotel's employees rushed passed her towards backstage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. Our show is about to begin."

"Hey," Susie came up behind Midge, startling her slightly as she tried to get her head out of the clouds… or out of her bed this morning. "I made it for 'tits up' Great!" she laughed slightly but kept talking, not noticing Midge's far off expression. "Lovin' this Vegas weather. 70 degrees in the dead of winter. New York was freezing. How've ya been? Everything good?"

"I got married."

"Wait. What?"

She should have known that this wasn't right right time to tell Susie important information. Midge was planning to keep her mouth shut for a few days. Lenny had to out of town for a few days for a gig anyway, so it shouldn't have been a problem. Something about the twinge of betrayal she still felt when Susie mentioned something as simple as going to New York for Sophie makes her mind fizzle out. So she had to tell her; even if she didn't mean to, and even if she didn't want to tell her about the marriage.

"To Lenny. We're married."

"Lenny who?"

Midge could see that this was going to be a longer conversation, and neither of them had time. The silent seconds were ticking down before she had to go out on stage and do her act.

"Lenny who? You know who. Lenny."

"Bruce? He's in New York."

"Well he came to visit. He was in Vegas last night."

"Get out of here."

Susie was either going to hit Midge or just tell at her. Clearly she wasn't quite sure which one was coming for her, but Midge was ready to raise her arms if she needed to guard her face.

"And we got married."

"You just got divorced. I was there. I saw it!" She was gesturing wildly with one of her hands as she spoke. "The judge guy banged the gavel!"

"Look okay," Midge took a deep breath. This was going to be hard to explain, especially since she was sure the 90 seconds she was given had already passed. "I think I'm happy about this."

Susie held both of her arms up now. She was doing that thing that Midge hated, where it sounded like she was going to cry in frustration. There might have even been tears in Susie's eyes as she tried to keep it together.

"You really couldn't hold it together for a few days, Miriam?"

Midge was outraged. It was Susie that left her in Vegas by herself in the first place. It was Susie that just had to leave for New York in order to help out Sophie Lennon, who was a seasoned professional (quirks aside). Midge needed Susie with her, but she still left.

"You're supposed to hold it together for me, but you weren't here." It didn't matter if she was actually sort of _happy_ about her impromptu marriage. None of it mattered right now when Susie was trying to _blame_ her for making a mistake.

"Now you're gonna blame me for you fucking some guy and getting married?"

"I didn't fuck some guy!" she took a breath. "Look, I know. It was stupid."

"It's not your fault."

"We got drunk, and I was pissed off." she held her arms out as she tried to brush it away for the time being. She didn't want to go out on stage with her mind frazzled like this. "We got drunk, it happened. But I don't regret it."

"Look, this is just another part of a manager's job. Quickie divorces for drunk clients. I assume you want a divorce?"

"Of course not!"

"Wait, what?"


	3. Chapter 3

Midge had been sitting alone at the hotel bar all afternoon nursing a martini and picking away at her new material. She wrote down everything as it came to her, sometimes in the middle of the night, so there was a lot of half-thoughts to work through. Usually she did this when she was home while the kids were asleep, or at least tucked into bed. She was beginning to like the bar scene though; here, she had a captive audience.

"Miguel, is this funny?" Midge asked the bartender his opinion with no hint of shame, as if she hadn't been harassing him all afternoon with a repeat of the exact same question. "This humidity in Florida is so unrelenting, even my mother thinks it should calm down."

He contemplated the joke for all of about half a second before shaking his head. "No."

"Really, take your time," she pursed her lips. "One more," pointing at her drink, "and one for oyurself. It'll seem funnier then."

She barely had time to put her head back down before the sound of an unfamiliar male voice came from her left side. "Good book?"

"Not yet."

"Can I buy you a drink?" he moved the barstool, making it squeak and scratch across the floor. Despite her fairly obvious disinterest, the man assumed he was staying.

"Got one coming."

"Put it on my tab."

Midge finally looked up at that. "Oh, no thank you!" she clicked her pen and shooed Miguel away. "Very sweet, but I'm working." She turned back to her writing, hoping that he would finally take the hint and leave the bar; of course he did no such thing.

"Really? Working?" there was shock in his voice, a sure sign that even if Midge _had _been interested, she definitely wouldn't be now. "Well, this hotel certainly draws a nicer class of working girls."

"Yeah, look, Mom, I'm not a hooker," she finally lowered down the book and let the frustration seep through her voice. "I'm working on my act and I can pay for my own drink."

"Okay. Modern women. Maybe I should just keep you company so no other man makes the mistake I just did."

"I appreciate you wanting to be the saviour of my reputation, but I'm busy writing dick jokes, so if you don't mind…" she gestured toward her book, ignoring the sound of the chair on the other side being shoved out of the way. Of course some other man would take this chance to mark his territory.

"Number three really paints a picture." Midge swung her head around, prepared to tell this guy to back off too. Her mood completely changed though when she got over her brief moment of shock.

Lenny was giving her one of his smirks as he waited for her to reply to his comment.

"What on earth are you doing here?" she hadn't been expecting to see Lenny for a while. Even with their newly minted 'accidental' marriage, she knew it would take a while for things to regulate with the life they were going to attempt living together.

"I still technically live here." he tapped his cigarette in the ashtray on the bar and turned towards her with a small smile.

"In Florida?"

"At some point, every Jew must live in Florida," he nodded his head and shrugged his shoulders. "It's in the Torah."

"Wow." she shook her head in wonder, following his every move with her gaze. "You know, it's weird, before we got married I never pictured you living anywhere. You just existed."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I do live places, and _right now_, or at least until I get everything straightened out, it's here." she leaned back as if she was about to fall off her seat with the news. "I got a key, I get mail, I wear an apron."

"Must go good with that tie." she pointed at his chest, and she had to hold herself back from pressing her hand against the tie in question and pulling him down.

He leaned in closer to her and lowered his voice. "I heard Shy was in town, so I thought I would stop by and say 'hello' to my wife." he finally - _finally_ \- leaned down and pecked her lips. "Hello." He moved his head a bit and looked over her shoulder, "Good-bye."

Midge turned away from Lenny towards the other man, who was inexplicably still sitting with an expectant look on his face. He cleared his throat and finally got the hint to move.

Lenny was already moving before Midge asked if he wanted to take the seat, but she asked anyway: "You want to sit?"

He shrugged his shoulders and grabbed the ashtray, holding it in the same hand has his half used cigarette. Midge followed him with her whole body as he walked behind her to reach his new spot.

"Three in the afternoon; a pen, a notebook, and a drink." he gestured towards Miguel as he approached them with Midge's second drink of the day. "All you need is a social disease, and you are officially a road comic." Midge almost had to spit her drink back in the glass as she laughed. "How long are you in town?"

"Two frizz-filled weeks."

"Good, I am heading out of town for a couple of days to make some money," his attention was fully on her as he spoke, his hand rested on her knee under the bar.

"Oh."

"Apparently I have some sort of 'big move' back up to New York coming up soon."

She nodded her head in mock consideration. "I did not know that."

"When I get back, we should grab a drink."

"See each other? But what would people think?" she leaned on her hand and smiled even more widely than she already had been. "I would love that." she saw that he was about to get up, and grabbed his hand to keep him in place. "You know, you could stay for a while."

He barely debated it for a second before he was already settled back in his seat.


	4. Chapter 4

Midge strolled into the hotel bar riding on the high from her act that she just finished a few minutes before. Vegas was proving to be the perfect place to try out her new jokes! Some ended up a little raunchier than others, but no one seemed to mind here. There was enough booze pouring that even the worst of the lot got a laugh or two, and she planned to take full advantage of that before they needed to move on to the next leg of the tour.

She received his note while standing backstage watching Shy's set. Midge had been trying _not_ to think about Lenny's re-arrival happening soon, but it was hard to keep the excitement from her mind. When she saw him sitting at the bar, she remembered why she had always seemed to get that feeling deep in her stomach; the feeling that until recently she had to deny. Their marriage was still so new in her mind that she wasn't always sure it was even real. After barely letting her feelings for him surface for more than a couple flirty comebacks at a time, marriage seemed like a fantasy.

When they first met they were both _married to other people_. She remembered Joel talking about Lenny's act when he was just starting out. She hadn't figured out the meatloaf trick yet so Joel always had to go on really late. Sometimes he would go while she put Ethan to bed (before their trio became four) and see other comics' acts as practice. She knew why now, but looking back it felt surreal.

"I thought you were gonna call when you got back." She set the note the stage manager had given her on the bar in front of him, and squeezed his knee as she wedged herself between him and the bar stool she'd been occupying the past few days.

"I opted for a sneak attack." He turned in his seat and tapped the ash off his cigarette.

"There's a lot of that going around," the complaint was obvious in her voice. She saw the bartender coming over though, and she wasn't about to take her frustration with her parents out on him. "Gin martini, up, with olives!" She turned to Lenny and took a deep breath. "You should have seen my set."

"I saw your set."

"You _did_? How was I?" she hopped up onto the barstool and patted her lap with anticipation.

"Wow. Just like that?" he waved his hand in the air as he scoffed. "I usually start with some small talk. How have you been? Who's got gout?"

"Nope. Life's short. Talk about me."

Midge saw another man approaching them with intent, a notebook, and a pen already to harass Lenny. She didn't even need to hear him ask for 'Mr. Bruce' shyly (which he did). She had been witness to Lenny's fame before, even if he was a little hesitant to admit it at times. People fawned over him in a way that made her proud to be in his orbit. His list of 'important people' wasn't very long, but she somehow made the cut.

"Excuse me, Mr. Bruce?" The man's voice shook as he spoke. The notebook wobbled only slightly in his hands.

"Um, Mr. Bruce is my mother," Lenny gave the man his attention, turning and leaning over the back of the bar stool. "Lenny, please."

"Could I get…?" he trailed off, holding out the notepad and pen towards Lenny.

"You want hers?" Lenny points towards her and she feels blush warm her cheeks more than the gin.

"That's okay."

"That's show business." Lenny looked at her and shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes. The man took his pen back. As he walked away Midge noticed another woman at the bar watching them. Her mouth was open in amazement and she continued watching Lenny talk like nothing had happened.

Lenny leaned forward and lowered his voice as though what he was saying was supposed to be a secret. "I am very famous and important."

"Yes," Midge fluttered her eyelashes and she could tell that he was trying not to smile. "We were talking about me, remember?"

"I do. Uh, what are you doing tonight?"

"Listening to you critique my act."

"I have a proposition for you," he was holding his cigarette still despite having not smoked it since Midge sat down. "I have a work thing I have to do, but I was thinking, tag along, you might find it interesting. Besides, I've barely spent time with my wife, that might be interesting too."

"Could I work it into my act? The one you liked, or didn't like?"

"Afterward, I'll buy you dinner," he was doing that strange flirting thing he always attempted. The charm was on full force and he was staring her down as if she'd ever say 'no'. "Deal?"

"Deal." she smirked.

"You ready to go?"

"I have to change. Ten minutes." She hopped down from the bar stool and pecked his lips. She was unconcerned about the watching eyes. "And then you'll tell me what you though about my act."

"Depends on how good the outfit is."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: There be smut in these waters. If you want to avoid it, stop reading when Lenny and Midge enter the room, and you can pick it back up again after the break! As usual, let me know what you think!**

* * *

They walked along the boardwalk for a while, teasing each other and discussing the future; making plans for when they were both finally back in New York again. Lenny's coat was thrown over Midge's shoulders to guard her from the cool Miami breeze that was sweeping leaves over their path. The lounge they'd been dancing at was boiling hot, and Midge was definitely feeling the cool air as they strolled towards Lenny's hotel room.

"This is us," Lenny extended his arm to point their joined hands towards an unassuming blue door on the ground floor of the hotel.

"Nice, shiny number three."

"Yes. Uh, it was actually thirteen but the one fell off," he let go of her hand and gestured towards the trajectory the metal digit had taken, laughing at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Well when we live in an apartment we can call a super about that." Midge watched as he dug around in his pockets for the keys. She leaned against the door jamb, the cold metal digging into her shoulder blades.

"And what would he do?" Lenny leaned across from her, arms folded over his chest as he waited for an answer.

"Nothing," she shook her head and looked up at him with her sweetest smile. "But you'd have somebody to call."

He nodded his head thoughtfully, then finally pulled out the keys to the room. Midge pushed some of the hair off her neck and watched Lenny as he held up the small metal object with an unexpected shyness. "Key."

How many times had she watched men unlock doors? Whether it be her father or even Joel she'd never found it to be a particularly entrancing set of motions. The most attention she'd ever paid to the process only happened when she would let Ethan unlock the apartment door after a day out. With Lenny though she couldn't stop staring. Perhaps it was the anticipation of what was going to happen once they were finally on the other side of the door. Maybe it was that seeing Lenny in a domestic setting was something she would need to get used to over time. Either way, Midge was completely absorbed with watching her husband's forearm as he turned the key in the lock of a Miami hotel room. "And it works."

"Yes." He leaned forward into the room as far as he could as he pushed the door open. "The evening is going swimmingly so far."

He leaned back against the frame and stared down into Midge's wide eyes. She felt a welling up of emotion in her chest; a feeling enveloped her that she was too scared to put a label on quite yet.

"So, what did you think of my act?" She needed to distract herself from saying something wrong, and she knew harassing him about their conversation from that afternoon would get his attention.

"I thought it was sensational," he lowered his voice when he paid her the compliment.

She snatched up his hand again and stood up straighter. Even in her heels she was significantly shorter than his tall frame, but she made do with lifting her face towards his, making her intention clear.

"Thank you," she whispered and he bent down to her level.

The kiss was gentle, but filled with intent. Both of them knew where this evening would end, and neither wanted to wait any longer. Lenny tasted like their shared cigarette and his expensive whisky, and Midge couldn't get enough.

"Are you going to carry me over the threshold?" She was half joking, but was unsurprised when she found herself being lifted into Lenny's arms with ease. "Such a gentleman!"

Lenny kicked the door closed behind them and kept their lips together, exploring Midge's mouth as he set her down on the floor. She kicked her shoes off to the side and shrugged his borrowed coat off her shoulders to the carpet. There was a nagging voice in her head that insisted she go freshen up in the bathroom. The voice sounded like her mother and was hurriedly whispering to her that Midge had to reapply her makeup and half unhook her bra before this could go any further. Powder the red marks and hope he doesn't notice them. When Lenny pulled away the smallest fraction from their embrace, Midge swore it was because he was hearing the voice too.

They stared at each other for an extended moment, just soaking in the tension of _before_. He was asking her a question with his eyes, one that he was too nervous to ask aloud. It was that silence that let Midge brush away the voice in her head.

She didn't need to make herself up for Lenny Bruce; this man knew her in a way that no one else ever had. The red marks on her back and the smear of mascara that was likely under her eyes didn't matter to this man. He kissed her so soundly that any doubts of her appearance and her upcoming performance were dashed away. She found herself unconcerned with what he would find now that his hand was pulling down the zipper on her dress. Instead, she was distracted completely by what she was finding underneath the buttons of his dress shirt.

Lenny's lips rested on her neck, not quite kissing her, but pressing into her skin through distraction and a need for as much contact as possible. Midge helped him with her dress. She shifted her arms out of the thin sleeves and held onto him as it fell to her feet. He didn't stare down at her like a horny teenage boy, but he _did_ look like he wanted to devour her.

Midge made quick work of Lenny's clothes as well. His shirt and tie were thrown to the floor like they had offended her, and his under shirt was tossed similarly. She couldn't stop herself from pressing her lips to his chest, where her hand had wanted to rest so many times since they'd first met.

She could feel Lenny's hand making quick work of the torture device around her chest, and it quickly came loose. Barely stopping herself from letting out a gust of relieved air, she shifted out of her bra and let it join everything else below them. She undid his belt and pulled at the button of his pants in a flurry of needy movements.

They didn't stop to breath properly until they were both even. He was in a pair of boxers and she was standing pressed against him equally undressed. Midge was not used to this kind of attention. His lips were on her constantly, his hands touching every inch of bare skin he could find. Her previous experiences had taught her to worship the man she was with so they could get to the good stuff. No one had ever cared enough about _her needs_ to touch her and care for her like this. Lenny held her in reverence though, and looked at her like she was water in the desert. His heated breath washed across her as he finally pulled away to look at her nearly naked body.

"Worth the wait?" She couldn't stop herself from making the joke while he stared at her in awed silence.

"Mrs. Bruce," he shook his head and ran one of his hands down her back. "You're always worth the wait."

"Take me to bed, Lenny."

That was all the encouragement he needed to push her towards the soft blanketed mattress. Her body landed softly on the pink sheets and she was quickly covered by Lenny's unsurprisingly muscular form. Midge wrapped her legs up in his, lifting her hips to feel him against her heat.

"Fuck, Midge," he pulled at her bottom lip with his teeth teasingly when she repeated the movement a second time.

"Isn't that the idea?"

He rolled his eyes at her despite the heat of the moment they were sharing. Her mouth was about to form another joke, when she instead let out a moan at the feeling on his fingers rubbing her through her wet panties. Lenny smirked at the lewd sound and teased her again. When she bucked her hips toward his hand for more, he obliged by shifting his hand and pulling her panties down her thighs. They worked together to get them off, and his hand was on her again within moments.

Midge pulled his hand back down to her, and they kissed again just as he ran a finger between her lips. She let out a whine into his mouth that he knew the neighbours would have heard otherwise. He used his thumb to rub her clit while one of his fingers dipped just barely into her waiting centre. She groaned into his mouth again and pushed her hips in such a way that let him know she was ready for more. He added a second finger and moved his head down to her heaving chest. When he sucked a hardened nipple into his mouth she once again moved to take his fingers deeper and moaned when she did.

"You're so wet," he groaned around her breast. He thrust his fingers in and out of her as he spoke. "I want to taste you."

To his immense surprise, Midge shook her head 'no' at the suggestion. She grabbed his face with her hands and forced him back to her level. "I just want to feel you inside me."

"Are you sure, Midge?" He felt foolish asking her while he was still playing with her clit, but still wanted to give her the option. Not that she wouldn't _always_ have the option, but he needed to voice it now.

She didn't answer his (she thought) frankly ridiculous question with words. She let her hands speak for her as she pushed down his boxers until he got the idea and kicked them the rest of the way off. She'd felt his hard length against her for too long already for her to survive any more time without him as close as possible. She wrapped her perfectly manicured fingers around his hardness and brought him to her entrance, running her thumb over his tip before letting him go. He took a free hand and intertwined their fingers, lifting the arm he was holding above her head on the pillow, holding her in place.

"Len-" he swallowed her words with his mouth as he thrust inside her, first only slightly, then more with each movement of their hips together. He'd already brought her so close with his fingers that she could feel her orgasm building deep in her stomach more quickly than she had ever experienced before.

Lenny moved his hand back down to her clit, bringing her closer to the edge that they were both teetering. They broke their kissing for much needed air. The space between them was sticky with sweat and heat, but they didn't notice. Midge stared into Lenny's eyes and felt herself welling up with happy tears.

"Fuck, Midge. I'm not going to last much longer," he sounded apologetic and yet blissfully happy. She bit her lip and shifted at just the right angle to make him go even deeper than before.

"Cum… cum for me!" She managed the words just as he pushed her over the edge and joined her in bliss.

They laid together to catch their breath. He was still inside her, she was trembling slightly as she came down from their shared high. They eventually separated though, however unwillingly. Lenny rolled onto his back and they reached for each other's hands at the same time, unwilling to truly separate just yet. He brought their hands up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles, then rested them on his chest.

"Wanna go again?" Midge asked when her heart rate was finally slowing back down to normal.

"Jesus Christ," Lenny rolled to his side and leaned in to kiss her head. "You're going to kill me, woman. I can already see it coming."

* * *

Lenny had known since the moment Midge Maisel slid into the back of that police car with him, that he could stare at her for the rest of his life. He didn't normally find himself to be a very sentimental man, but there was something about her porcelain skin and lovely eyes that kept him awake at night. Before, the long nights spent smoking on a fire escape were a shameful secret between himself and the alley cats. He was still married to Honey when they met, but things had already fallen apart long before Midge stepped drunkenly into his life. And now here he was, staring at Midge's beautiful face for far longer than he was sure respectable people would find appropriate. But he was not a respectable person - ask anyone.

If you'd told him a year ago that he would be married again and laying happily next to his wife, he could have called you crazy. Lenny Bruce had not come to expect a long happy life, but now he was looking forward to the idea. He didn't picture himself as an Upper West Side, happy wife, happy children, happy life kind of guy, but Midge Maisel had made that all possible.

Or Midge Bruce did.

And he was going to do everything in his power to keep a smile on her face. He was going to dress up and say the right things to her parents at breakfast in a few hours. Then he was going to call Honey about Kitty and update her on his situation. Tell her that his life was finally going to be in a place where he'd get to see his daughter for more than a few supervised hours at a time.

"Is something on fire?" Midge still sounded tired, but her eyes were scrunched up in the morning light as she watched him back. "Or is it just the gears in your head working too hard? Because I smell smoke."

He leaned forwards and kissed her, ignoring the taste of stale alcohol that coated both of their mouths. "God forbid one thinks about how best to please their lovely wife."

She kissed him again, and groaned as the room phone started to ring. "I think you did a good enough job of that last night."

While Midge leaned over to answer the ringing phone, Lenny finally got up to get ready for the day. She'd already warned him the night before that they were going to have breakfast with her parents. He didn't know they were in town, but despite his nervousness, he found himself looking forward to their relationship seeing the light of day. He _did _like her father when they met too, and her mother seemed strict but caring in the brief moments they crossed paths. This couldn't be _that_ horrible, right?


	6. Chapter 6

Midge and Lenny both found it incredibly difficult to get out of bed when the sun rose the next morning. She still had to check her parents into their new hotel room though, and was eventually supposed to do a sound check before the show tonight. Hopefully letting her parents stay in her room for the night meant that they would be more understanding about her news and willing to attend the show. Her mother hadn't seen her perform yet, and her father hadn't seen her on stage since that horrible night in the Catskills. Abe had every reason to be hesitant, but Midge allowed herself to be hopeful anyway. She also hoped that they would be in bright enough spirits to not absolutely melt down at the news of her unexpected marriage. Somehow the later seemed less likely, and she'd even had a nightmare about them attempting to ground her like a child.

As soon as she had the key in hand, Midge rushed out to the poolside where she'd agreed to meet her parents. Lenny agreed to lag behind a bit in order to pick up his mail and make a few calls before joining them. Hopefully she would be able to tell her parents about their marriage before he arrived. Telling them news always seemed to go better when the person in question was still a relatively unseen figure. Her father had met him that night in jail, but Midge hardly counted that. As far as she was concerned, neither of her parents _knew_ Lenny. Without really knowing him then, they hopefully wouldn't be able to direct their anger at anyone but herself. That was her theory anyway. She just hoped that her journey through room change hadn't taken up too much time.

"All set," Midge set the hotel room key down on the patio table as though she'd won some great prize. "Here's your key. I had your luggage moved to your new room, so by the time you're done with breakfast you'll be all settled in."

Her mother took a bite of her food and smiled brightly across the table, "Done with breakfast? Why would we ever be done breakfast?"

"I'll be done with breakfast when I'm starting lunch," Abe joked along with his wife while Midge watched in mild shock at her parent's happy moods.

"Breakfast is perfect and this hotel is perfect."

"I slept like a baby. Not a fussy baby. One of those quiet babies."

"I slept like I was on Seconal," Rose looked towards Midge like she'd just told the most brilliant of jokes. "Because I was on Seconal."

Midge felt a hand touch the small of her back and turned to see Lenny looking down at her with wide eyes. She gestured towards her parents continuing their conversation about their apparently delicious breakfast and rolled her eyes.

"These pancakes have coconut in them. You have to try them." Abe lifted one of them and set it on Rose's plate as she held it across the table.

"I believe I will."

"Mama, Papa!" Midge tried to get their attention, grabbing Lenny's hand and pulling him slightly forward. "This is Lenny Bruce. Lenny, these are my parents, Abe and Rose Weissman."

"Yes, yes," Abe gestured towards the two empty seats at the table, "Sit, eat some pancakes; there's coconut in them."

Midge and Lenny looked at each other as they took their seats, neither daring to say a word. Even without having met her parents before, Lenny knew that meeting a male friend of their only daughter's warranted a more dramatic reaction than they were currently exhibiting.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" The nervousness in Midge's voice was obvious, at least to those paying attention; Rose and Abe could not be included among those people.

"Well," Abe swallowed his bite of food and smiled at his wife. "I plan to spend the day not being around Moishe and Shirley."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful. I'll join you."

"I have to say," Midge looked up at Lenny and tapped his foot with hers under the table. "It's nice to see you guys so happy and relaxed. Maybe you can try and stay that way for the news I have to tell you."

"Miriam, you should try the coconut pancake." Rose gestured towards the half eaten pancake on her plate.

"I don't like coconut."

Rose cut off a piece of the pancake and motioned like she was going to force Midge to take the food. "Oh, you can't taste the coconut. It just tastes like pancake."

"So, guys," Midge took a deep breath and looked between her parents. She hoped that they were paying enough attention for her to tell them. "I have some big news, and I promise I-"

"I can taste the coconut." Abe chewed thoughtfully, not at all indicating that was giving his daughter even an ounce of his attention.

"Can you? Maybe I should try it again." Rose pulled her hand back and took the bite for herself, taking a moment to chew and contemplate the flavour like it was the biggest decision of her life.

"Mama? Papa?" Midge saw that they still weren't paying any attention. Lenny watched in frustration at her own anger, wishing he could do something to help. Unfortunately, he had at least enough foresight to know that opening his mouth right now was probably not the best idea.

"Nope. Still can't taste it." Rose was oblivious to her daughter trying to get their attention. She continued to chew and contemplate the food while her husband did the same.

Midge finally had enough and stood to take their plates away from them. Abe and Rose both called out in confused protest, and Lenny tried his best not to chuckle. The plates were held in the air precariously, and no one present would think it odd if they made their way into the nearby pool.

"I got married!"

There was always something unbelievable in those scenes in movies where something dramatic happens, and everything goes silent. A hint of the fantastical in a bomb falling and everyone nearby being so stunned, (even if the news has nothing to do with them) that there is absolute silence. Well, a bomb just fell in the middle of Miami, and Rose and Abe Weissman's reactions had the whole dining area waiting with bated breath.

"I thought you weren't in love with her," Abe said, breaking the silence with a question directed unexpectedly at Lenny. He had a finger held up at his wife, who looked like she herself was going to explode if she didn't say _something_.

"That's not what I said," Lenny finally spoke. He didn't meet Midge's eyes, but instead stared at Abe as though he was trying to communicate a deeper meaning. "I said that nothing was going on between us and there _was nothing_."

"Well, not _nothing_," Midge reasoned as she kept an eye on her mother. "I mean, there's always been something between us. Well, not _something_, something, but something. And I know you're going to freak out and I know I just got divorced from Joel and-"

"Miriam."

Rose was standing at the table now as well. She snatched the plates of food that Midge had been waving everywhere and slammed them down on the table. Her face was red, but not from the sun, and there was a vein in her forehead that would horrify her if she could see it. Abe put his hand up and was going to speak again, until Rose shook her head and walked away.

"Mama!" Midge left the rest of the table ignored as she started towards her mother.

Lenny looked at Abe, silently asking if they should follow their wives, but the more experienced of the two shook his head. It was an uncomfortable few minutes before either men said anything. Abe grabbed his plate of food with every intention of eating again, then handed Lenny Rose's unfinished breakfast. Lenny wasn't feeling particularly hungry, but shoveled the eggs in anyway.

"Here," Abe flopped a pancake from his seemingly endless stack onto Lenny's plate. "There's coconut in them."

* * *

"Mama! Mama, please!" Midge was out of breath as she tried to keep up with her mother's unexpected speed. "At least slow down while you ignore me!"

To the naked eye it wouldn't seem like Rose was aware of anything, but Midge noticed her slightly slower gait and was able to catch up to her mother. They walked in silence together until they'd reached the boardwalk Lenny and Midge had walked along only a few hours before. There were far more people here, but both women were too wrapped up in their thoughts.

"I've bailed that man out of jail, Miriam."

"To be fair, it was when you were bailing Papa out of jail," she couldn't help the jab towards her father. "You aren't really reacting the way I thought. I was expecting flying silverware and a sermon even the Pope would take notes on."

"Don't be foolish. We were in a public place," Rose scoffed at the thought. "You said you weren't dating this, Lenny Bruce. Now you come to breakfast only a few weeks later and you're married to the man!"

"Mama, I-"

"_Married_ to that delinquent. I don't know why I expected anything else from you, Miriam. After the things you've put us through, not surprised at all. A true disappointment to both myself and your father. I can't believe you'd do something like this to us after Joel."

"LISTEN TO ME!"

* * *

"Look, Abe," Lenny paused and waited to see if it was okay. "I know what I said that night about Midge. Obviously I couldn't tell the man I'd just been thrown into a cell with that-"

"That you're in love with his daughter."

Lenny shrugged and nodded and ate the last piece of his breakfast. Abe was finished a few moments later, but instead of getting up he ordered them both coffees. It wasn't until the streaming drinks were set on the table and their plates were taken away that either spoke again.

"It was a few weeks ago. We got drunk and got married at a casino chapel in Vegas." Lenny resisted the urge to drop the situation altogether and leave. "I know that none of this is something a father wants to hear, but I care about Midge. I'd do anything for that woman, and I plan on it. I can be a good man, record aside."

"Are you a strong man, Lenny?"

Assuming he didn't mean physically, Lenny shrugged his shoulders and said the first thing that came to mind: "Not when it comes to her."

Abe seemed to consider his answer for a while. If Lenny wasn't so unnerved by the older man, he would have been proud of the answer he gave. Instead he was left worried that it was the opposite of what he wanted to hear, and that Abe Weissman was about to toss him in with the alligators. Or worse, call his mother.

"I would have done the same thing." Abe took a sip of his coffee and nodded as if agreeing with himself.

"Pardon?"

"If, hypothetically, I was you and Rose was Miriam," at Lenny's continued confusion, Abe continued. "If I'd been in love with a woman like her for years, and I was convinced that I'd never have her…. At the first glimmer of hope I would have grabbed her and ran."

"I-"

"Now, I'm not saying I agree with what happened by any stretch of the imagination. But I heard the way you talked about her that night and I see the way you look at her now. I'm not happy and I don't suspect I will be for a very long time. But I understand."

* * *

The last thing Midge had expected out of today was to end up drinking before noon with her mother. But here they were, sipping on frozen margaritas while Midge found it in herself to explain herself to her mother. Rose found the words first.

"When he sent you the flowers…"

"I wasn't lying, Mama. I had just gone to support him as a friend. He was on _The Steve Allen Show_, and was feeling nervous." Midge knew that this wasn't fully about the unexpected marriage. She was well trained in the art of reading Rose Weissman's tone and expressions. "If there was anything going on, I promise you would have been the first to know. I told you no more secrets and I meant it."

Rose sipped her sugary drink thoughtfully while Midge waited nervously for a reply.

"So this is real then? You're truly married to this… this thug." Her expression indicated that it was the kindest descriptor she could use. Midge simply nodded her head. "Do you love him?"

"When has that ever mattered to you?"

"You drunkenly married a strange man at a dirty Vegas hotel. I should hope it was with good reason. His good looks won't support you or your children."

"He has a daughter too," Midge smiled. "Wait, did you say he was good looking?"

"Well, I'm not blind, Miriam."

Both women laughed until their stomachs hurt, and Midge had a few tears on her cheeks. Rose seemed caught off guard and reached over to wipe the stray droplets away. Midge sniffed. Not even realising that she had been crying. Rose didn't ask any questions, just hugged her daughter closer until the unexpected tears had run themselves out.

"I didn't want to disappoint you again," Midge admitted quietly. She took a loose tissue that her mother held out from her purse and dabbled at her tear-streaked face. "I promise that this wasn't part of the plan. There was no agenda to find the quickest way to give my parents heart attacks. I just...I do though. I love Lenny Bruce."

"I'm not happy, and I'm not sure I'll be able to fully accept this for quite a while. But I understand."

"You do?"

"I was young and in love once too. As hard as I'm sure it is to imagine your father and I as _young_." They both laughed, and Midge finished off the end of her drink, cringing when it ended up tasting more like a snow cone than anything resembling alcohol. "If this point in our lives has shown me anything though, it is that I love your father more than ever. His effort means more to me than he will ever know. If _he_ makes you feel like that, then I'll work towards being okay with all of this."

"You're being incredibly insightful and emotional today, Mama."

"It's the drinks and the pancakes."

**A/N: So there you have it, folks! Two very unexpected reactions to Midge's news. As I wrote I realised that I couldn't have them be full on, ignoring her angry... so this is what came out. Cautious understanding.**

**Let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

Midge was anxious to shed her clothes and sit in the tub as long as possible once the show was over. The minute everyone else was distracted by Shy's lovely singing as he sat on the stool (trying to hide how much pain his ribs were causing), Midge snuck out of the ballroom. She was sure that there was not an elevator in the world that was fast enough to get her to her floor and in a warm bubble bath.

While leaning back in the steaming, lavender scented bubbles, Midge found herself reflecting on the day. It wasn't the revelation of Shy's sexuality that had left her shaken. Instead, she found herself more upset over what he had gone through, and the fact that this hadn't even been the first time it had happened. Looking back to just a few hours ago, it was a wonder she managed to keep herself together for him and his situation. She just kept reminding herself over and over that this wasn't about her, and that she needed to help. Shy entrusted her with his secret and she needed to keep it close to her heart and help Dwayne put himself back together into Shy Baldwin.

After her bath, Midge wrapped the fluffy hotel robe around herself and grabbed the phone from the table near the window seat. She sat, overlooking the beach front and dialed Lenny's hotel. He was somewhere else now, just for a few days, but by the time he was back in Miami the tour would be gone again. She waited for him to answer still, knowing his voice and reassurance would be the soothing balm her heart sorely needed.

"I just don't know what to do with myself. It just never occurred to me that stuff like that was happening outside my safe little bubble. I couldn't even bring myself to stay for the whole concert," Midge leaned her head back against the window frame while she talked to Lenny. The phone was resting on the floor with the cord stretched as she continued her station at the cushioned window seat. "I wish you were here. Things were great when you were here."

"When we get to see each other again we'll both already be back in New York for a few weeks," Lenny's voice sounded further away than Midge ever wanted. The few days they actually got to spend together had spoiled her terribly. "Shy understands, I'm sure. Maybe talk to him tomorrow, explain that it wasn't what he told you, just what it made you realise."

"I hope you're right. It just felt so selfish to leave like that. Like I wasn't being supportive and was letting him down."

There was a knock on the hotel room door and Midge paused her train of thought. She'd ordered room service just before calling Lenny and it really had taken forever to arrive. She listened as he replied and got up from her seat, dragging the phone with her as she went to check on the door.

"I'm often right, on occasion," he laughed and Midge's smile carried her right to the persistent knocking.

When the door swung open, Midge was surprised to see Shy's sheepish looking face looking back. He was dressed more casually than she had ever seen him, having changed out of his show clothes into a set of silk pajamas and a robe. Clearly he'd had similar thoughts to Midge the moment he was done on stage. His injuries were showing now, and she guessed that he'd felt secure in washing off the make-up she applied earlier that evening.

"You're not my food." She felt safe joking mildly as he looked a lot more relaxed.

"Well, I've definitely been called worse," he joked back with her, and Midge couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He motioned towards the inside of her room, silently asking if he could enter. She nodded her head and backed up until she was near the table where she found the phone.

"Is that Shy?" Lenny's tone didn't sound jealous or frustrated when he asked. She'd grown used to men in her life sounding green when any other of their gender was involved. Perhaps it was the truth of Shy she'd confided in him, or maybe it was just his generally easy going attitude. Either way, Midge found herself happy that the drama was non-existent.

"Yeah, I think we're going to have some after-show dinner and drinks together. Maybe I'll even convince him to put on one of my face masks." She glanced up at Shy and he shrugged in agreement as he got comfortable at the end of Suzy's bed. "I'll call you tomorrow to check in?" She phrased it as a question, knowing that with the time difference and his later showtimes it was sometimes hard for them to orchestrate a call.

"Not if I call you first." It was a false challenge, but it made her smile anyway.

"Hey," she paused and bit her lip. She glanced behind her briefly and was Shy acting like he couldn't hear the conversation taking place only a handful of feet away. "I didn't say it while you were here, but I just want you to know I-"

"Midge Bruce, if you say what I think you're about to say over the phone, I don't want to hear it. Not yet at least." She heard him roll over on his bed, knowing that he'd been laying awake during a sleepless night as they spoke. It was quiet for a moment as they both figured out what to say. "I do too, honey."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, and I'll have some stuff to say to you in person in a few weeks."

"Not if I do first."

Midge hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment in a bit of a daze. She'd wanted to tell Lenny that she loved him before he left, but it never felt like the right time. As she stared at the phone, she realised that any moment would have been right. Now she regretted not telling him sooner, if only to hear him return the words in her time of distress.

"Didn't you tell me there was no man in your life?" Shy's question pulled Midge out of her thoughts and back into her hotel room. She turned around and saw Shy smiling at her teasingly.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I was telling the truth at the time?" Midge walked over to her bed and flopped down, using one of the thousand yellow bears as a pillow. "We got drunk and decided to get married one of the nights that we were still in Vegas."

"Wait, you didn't _marry your ex-husband_, did you?"

"Oh god no!" She picked at her nails and tried to avoid eye contact. "Do you know the comedian Lenny Bruce?" At Shy's widened eyes she nodded and laughed. "He came to visit me while we were in Vegas. We got drunk…"

"Wasn't there a rumour that you two were together?" he obviously knew more than she assumed, so she just just chuckled and nodded again.

"Lenny helped me out when I got black balled from all the clubs in Manhattan. I said some shitty things about Sophie Lennon - which I do not regret! But he did a set at a dive bar so I could open for him. Then everyone started saying that I'd fucked him to get him there."

"And did you?"

"Shy!" she tossed a bear at him that he deftly guarded against. "Of course not!" She sat up and reached for the room service menu. "Now if you're staying to gossip, then we should order more food. I wasn't expecting company and only ordered one of everything."


	8. Chapter 8

Joel was dodging her calls.

They hadn't actually spoken since the argument that night in Las Vegas, and that was almost two months ago. Now Midge was back in New York while Shy took a much needed break, and it was very clear that Joel was making an effort to avoid a continuation of the fight. He had yelled some pretty horrible things about her abandoning their children to go on tour. As though she'd left them on the side of the street with a sign and well wishes. In turn though, Midge screamed 'ditto' across the casino floor half a dozen times (earning a few glares, and one impressed look from Kim Novak).

She didn't want to rehash that argument though. She didn't even really need an apology from him for accusing her of sleeping with Shy (among other things). _She needed to tell him that she was married._

It took a lot of convincing on her part, but her parents finally agreed not to say anything until she had the chance to speak with her Weismann's inexplicably seemed to love Lenny, and were encouraging of the relationship between him and their daughter. At one point her mother had even brought up the family trip to the Catskills, and Abe couldn't stop waxing lyrical about the tomato juice.

So, Midge found out where Joel's new club was located from Shirley's address book, and made her way down to Chinatown.

"Nice place!" She called out as she stepped inside the freshly painted entrance. Her heels click-clacked against the wooden and tile flooring as she walked through the arches and towards where Joel was, bent over what looked like the building's blueprints.

"You should have called." She'd heard that from him more than a dozen times since they'd met, but lately the word had held more derision. He didn't even bother turning away from his blueprints when he answered.

"I did call," she replied in her snarkiest tone, deciding that he deserved a bit more attitude than usual. "You should have answered."

He stomped his foot on the floor and finally turned with his hands on his hips to look at Midge. She was staring definitely at him. There was no way she was going to apologise _again_ for leaving him to look after his own children. Joel was expecting her to grovel though. She could tell that he had been preparing himself to wait as long as it took for her to say that she was sorry. Clearly he had forgotten just how long Midge Weissman could wait for what she wanted. Her patience was endless, and so was her frustration.

He took a bit longer than expected to recognize this, but eventually groaned and moved his arms to fold over his chest. "What do you want, Midge?"

"I just thought you might like to talk," she tried to keep her voice calm and level. "We haven't spoken since our fight."

"So you came here for an apology?" He held a hand out and gestured vaguely in her direction.

Midge shifted her weight from one foot to the other and held the strap of her purse in front of her with both hands. Obviously now was not the time to tell Joel that she'd gotten married. There was a high chance that if the information was shared now, that his head would actually explode. For now, her mission was to simply keep the peace between them. With that in mind, she tacked on a smile and shook her head.

"We had a misunderstanding, Joel."

"You screamed at me across a casino floor. A busy casino floor."

She stared at him while trying to make him understand that she was trying to end this without either of them needing to apologise for what was said. It was clear that he didn't think he'd done anything wrong, and she felt no guilt over her retaliation. They'd both done enough apologising in the past year, and she was done. Midge just needed him to _know that_ without actually saying the words; saying them was almost as bad as saying sorry.

And she'd be damned if Midge _Bruce_ was going to say 'sorry' for her ex-husband saying that she abandoned her children. He'd said a lot of other things to upset her too, but for obvious reasons, the accusation of abandonment was the one that had particularly set her off that night.

"Look, I'm going out tonight to do some research for the club." He'd clearly gotten the silent message she was trying to communicate. "Did you want to come? I'm going to a couple clubs, might stop in to see a comedian or two."

There was a part of her that almost wanted to say yes. It would go a long way in ending the small feud they had started and maybe smooth some rough patches that have appeared in the past few months. But, she already had a plan to surprise Lenny tonight at his gig, and frankly, she'd rather be there. She hadn't even told him that she was back in New York yet, and was looking forward to what the welcome wagon might look like.

"I um… I can't tonight. I actually have some other plans."

"Oh, are you seeing Imogene again before you head out?"

"No," she stalled for a moment as her brain tried to come up with some sort of excuse. She felt certain that telling him she couldn't join him because she wanted to surprise her husband, wouldn't end very well right now. "I'm going out… I have a date." Midge hadn't meant to say it, but it was close enough to the truth that it didn't feel too much like a lie.

"A date?" He sounded like this was a new concept.

"Yes, and it is pretty serious, Joel."

"Serious?"

"Are you just going to repeat everything I say?"

Joel at least had the courage to look offended once again at her words. He had the tendency to repeat what she had been saying when he didn't want to admit the truth of her words. Midge dating, and telling him directly, was new territory for them; if only he knew how deep in she was already. It crossed her mind briefly to tell him about her marriage then, but she dashed the thoughts away after another glance at his expression.

"I don't know, Midge!" He tossed his hands in the air and turned away from her again. She could hear the emotion in his voice as he picked up the pencil he'd been writing with, and continued making marks on the blueprint. "Maybe you should just go."

She stared blankly at his back, feeling a supreme case of deja vu. How many times in the almost two years since they'd broken up had she stared at his back?

It took that thought to push her out the door.

Midge remembered going to _Upstairs at the Downstairs_ with Suzy a couple of times to see other comedians, and had always loved the atmosphere. It was a packed house when she walked in, but she still managed to order a drink at the bar with little to no trouble. She was starting to learn just how convenient being a woman at a club could be at times.

She stood near the bar gazing out at the groups of people milling about and sitting at their tables. It isn't with a particular purpose, but she wanted to get a feel for the room and calm her nerves a bit. She knew Lenny would be happy to see her, but it didn't stop her from being nervous. He thought she wouldn't be home until next week, and even then neither of them really know how long it was going to be until she was out on the road (or in the sky) again.

Shy's extended break was said to be indefinite. Midge was fully supportive when he explained it to her, and even encouraged him when he was first debating on the decision over wine and late night dinner in her hotel room when they were still in Florida.

She should have been less surprised when she saw a familiar set of eyes through the smoky haze of the club. It took a moment for her brain to make the connection between familiarity and unexpected presence, but when she did, he must have noticed. He pushed the empty chair at his table out with a foot and nodded towards it as a sort of peace offering. Midge looked over the sprawl of humans around her and decided to try her luck.

"I know you're married," Joel's voice strained as he spoke over the noise around them. Midge hadn't even sat in the offered seat before the admittance made its way through the low music that was being played on the stage. "I overheard your parents talking about it when I dropped the kids off last week."

The way Midge fell into her seat could only be described as a flop. Some of the martini she was holding splashed onto her fingers and she hurriedly grabbed a napkin before it also spilled onto her blouse. She attempted to stutter her way through a reply, but only found herself shaking her head in disbelief.

"I didn't really hear much else. Just enough to know about you remarrying." Joel took a swig from his beer and set it back down. The music on stage had stopped and the MC was talking with someone off to the side before announcing the next act. "That's why I didn't want to talk. I didn't know what to say, Midge."

"I didn't know how to tell you."

"You can tell me now, if you want."

Sometimes Midge saw the old Joel shine behind the newer, more broken man. There are conversations and moments between them that reminded her of the man she fell in love with less than a decade ago. It was hard seeing _this_ Joel eat that one alive, but it wasn't her place anymore. It hadn't been her place to _fix him_ since he decided that walking out was easier than staying, and that he needed a different life than the one that she'd carefully built around what he'd told her he wanted. A life that she thought she wanted too.

"Ladies and gentleman!" The loud voice of the club's host interrupted anything that Midge was planning to cobble together. She wanted to tell him; wanted to come clean. But now they were going to sit side-by-side as they watched her husband perform his new comedy routine, and Joel would have no idea.

The man on stage did a lit preamble over which Joel leaned closer to Midge, "Remember when we saw Bruce perform years ago? I think he might be my favourite comedian."

"Lenny Bruce!"

Midge smiled, "Mine too."

Lenny came out on stage to scattered applause and excited murmerings. There had been a line up to get inside, and Suzy said that some clubs had even started selling tickets to see him on stage.

"Good evening, ladies and… men," Lenny's smirk warmed Midge's heart. "Now, I know all of you are here with your stop watches, waiting to see how long it takes me to get taken out by my lovely friends over there!" He points towards the two officers standing near the bathroom doors. "But unfortunately for them, and for you, I'm going to be talking about something a little different tonight than my usual complaints."

There was a buzz in the room, but Midge hardly noticed. She glanced over at Joel's starstruck face and then looked back at Lenny. He hadn't noticed her in the audience yet, and she hoped it stayed that way until the end of his set.

"Now I'm not sure if any of you know this," he looked down at his feet and Midge could tell that he was trying to bite back a laugh. "But I recently got married."

When the show was over most people filed out of the club. There was an air of excitement filling up the room and following out the throng of fans that had followed Lenny here. Joel stood up and was about to put his jacket back on when his absent chattering was interrupted.

"Well, well, well," Midge and Joel both turned around and saw Lenny holding what looked like a poorly built gin martini. "You were the last person I expected to see sitting in my audience tonight."

"I'm in town for a few weeks. Thought you might like the surprise. I _really_ enjoyed your set." Midge took the martini he offered her and let her fingers linger on his for a moment when they brushed.

"I can't imagine why." She could tell that he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He motioned towards Joel, who seemed to be caught in the headlights "Are you going to introduce me to your friend there?"

"Oh!" Midge turned to grab Joel's sleeve and pull him closer. "Lenny, this is Joel. Joel, this is Lenny Bruce." Lenny raised his eyebrows at the introduction, but still reached out to shake Joel's offered hand. "Joel's a huge fan. He took me to one of your shows back when we were still dating."

"We aren't dating anymore though," Joel stammered dumbly. Midge could see the signs of a patented Maisel word dump coming their way; she was not disappointed."I actually proposed that night, and then we got married. And then I fucked up and we got divorice. But that isn't your fault, obviously."

"I didn't think it was…"

"Midge is married again though! She, uh… she remarried."

"I know, Joel," Lenny looked at Midge for help, but just found her shaking her head at Joel's rant. "I was there."

Joel seemed surprised at this news, but Midge could tell right away that his frazzled mind was going to take the wrong bit of information out of Lenny's admission.

"Oh, so you've met the husband then?"

"Joel, Lenny is the husband. My husband…" Midge took Lenny's hand and gave it a small squeeze. "I married Lenny."

It would have been unsurprising to anyone watching if a fire broke out backstage. Midge watched as Joel processed this information, then made an expression she'd never seen before. It was like his mind had skipped a few beats and was trying to figure out where it all went wrong. It also looked a bit like when he'd tried to change Ethan's diaper for the first time.

"You…" He paused and seemed to rethink what he was going to say before continuing. "You're married to Lenny Bruce?"

This was a rhetorical question, but it still took Midge squeezing Lenny's hand to stop him from answering with a joke. They stood there and waited for her ex-husband to process the information about her new husband. It was as quiet as possible considering the still very busy bar, and the music being played on stage.

They waited.

And waited.

And then Joel threw up.


	9. Chapter 9

They had been home from the tour for about a week when Suzy insisted that they needed to have lunch. She'd been in touch with Reggie a lot over the past few days, trying to figure out a plan that worked for everyone. Midge had nearly run off her feet with commercial work, but it was helping to bring in some sort of income, so she tried not to complain _too much_.

The diner was particularly busy the day Midge and Suzy finally decided to use some of their meager earnings to buy lunch. Suzy had finally gotten some results from her conversations with Reggie about the sudden ending of the tour, and was seemingly excited to share the news.

Midge, quite frankly, was just happy to be getting out of Queens.

Midge and the kids were still staying with Moishe and Shirley while they looked for a new apartment. It was… okay… but Shirley's singing and both of them being unwilling to wear clothes had started getting to her the moment she'd walked in the door. The only thing she looked forward to in the morning was being able to get out of the house.

"So," Suzy started up as soon as their food arrived. She bit off half of an extra long fry, then used the other half to gesture towards Midge. "Reggie is saying that the tour is officially postponed until further notice. Apparently it looks like a fancier way of saying 'cancelled until Shy is able to leave his house again'."

Midge made a mental note to call Shy when she got back to Queens. Maybe they could have dinner? She took a bite of her food, thinking that Suzy was going to continue, but apparently she'd been waiting for Midge to prompt her into action.

"Okay, so what does that mean for us?" When they left Florida, it had been made clear that cancelling would be a very real possibility. Now that they were faced with it, however, Midge was worried about what was next for her career. "I don't want to be insensitive to the situation, but right now it sounds like we are back where we started a few months ago."

Shy was clearly not in a very good place when she'd last spoken to him before they left. Midge knew that cancelling would be easier than having to rebook everything and supported the decision. It wasn't fair to put his recovery on a schedule and push him towards working when he wasn't ready.

Suzy held up a ketchup stained finger between them, then reached down into the bag she'd been lugging around. A large manila envelope appeared, with both of their names written in thick, blocky letters. Suzy held the envelope towards Midge, who grabbed it delicately in order to avoid spreading the ketchup further than it already had been.

"What's this?" Midge asked as she opened up the manilla and pulled out a stack of papers and two checks. "Is this from Shy?"

"Well, from Reggie, but basically, yeah…" Suzy took a bite of her sandwich and closed her eyes as she savoured the food. "End of contract, payment stuff."

Midge looked at the check with her name on it first and widened her eyes at the amount of zeroes written out. She looked over Suzy's too, and though it was smaller, it was still more than they'd made in the past two years and then some. She'd barely had a chance to look over the papers, though just at a glance they appeared to be contracts.

"I'm sorry, what is all of this for?" She couldn't stop herself from asking, hoping that Suzy had more information than she did. It would have been easy enough to read over the fine print, but hopefully she wouldn't have to just yet.

"That," she gestured towards the checks, "is more money than I've ever seen in my life," Suzy laughed with her mouth open and it took everything for Midge to stop herself from putting a hand up and averting her eyes. "The money we _would have made_. And a whole whack of money for termination of a contract early."

"Suzy, this is too much!" Midge tossed her handful of paper to the table and leaned back.

"You know, I thought it was crazy when the guys said to add that bit in. I thought 'they'll never end the tour. It would cost them a ton of money!' But they did! And it did! And now if you don't work for _two years_ we will still be okay!"

"I mean, I just can't believe it! When I saw Lenny last week we were trying to work stuff out with living arrangements and stuff. I have to kids so it-"

"This right here," Suzy carefully pointed towards the small printed paper. "That's a contract for the rest of the tour. There's no date on it yet, but they wanted to give you something as a guarantee for when the tour starts up again. No date, but a promise of intent."

Midge stuffed her check into the purse she'd been carrying, and then passed Suzy her check as well. She briefly debated between finally digging into her food and going over the contract, but her stomach made a sound so obnoxious that the food won.

* * *

**A/N: I know this one is a bit shorter than the others (especially compared to the last one), but I just wanted to get this part cleared up! What do you folks think is going to happen next?**

**Comment, or join some of us over on my writing blog! (usethesearms) on Tumblr!**


	10. Chapter 10

Imogene had always been a little… intense. Midge and her had first met at a dinner party suggested by their husbands a few years back. From the moment Imogene walked through the door with Archie trailing behind, Midge knew that they were meant to be in each other's lives forever. Here was a woman that would finally keep Midge on her toes. A friend that would hide her harsh criticisms and opinions behind a tone that was as sweet as pie. Imogene's bright blonde hair and chipper demeanor offered a contrast to Midge's life that she hadn't even realised he was missing.

"None of these apartments sound the least bit suitable," Imogene sighed as she tossed another newspaper onto their pile in the middle of the kitchen table.

The two women had been searching through newspaper and local magazine listings for vacant apartments all morning. Midge really was at the end of her rope when it came to the Maisels, and she was desperate to live with her husband. There was no way she was going to be living in Queens any longer than absolutely necessary.

Luckily, Imogene was dying to a break from her overly loud house, and jumped at the chance to help her best friend troll through ads.

"I'm meeting Lenny tomorrow morning to look at a couple places in the city," Midge circled an address and then added it to their written list in her notebook. "I'm hoping that one of those ones is the place, because I can't spend another moment living with these crazy people!"

Imogene pursed her lips and reached for her glass of iced tea. She took a sip and thought for a moment. Midge could tell that she was trying to stop herself from saying something out of turn, and urged her to just come out with it already:

"Just say it."

"I just don't know why you don't move into your old apartment!" The blonde finally said. She lowered her shoulders and lifted her chin. _Defiance Mode activated_, Midge thought. "You loved that apartment so much, and it was beautiful! Not to mention convenient, and-"

"And part of my _old life_. A life that was torn apart and," she attempted to piece together her thoughts and feelings in a way that would make sense to more than just herself. She kept needing ways to communicate this specific point to people, but always seemed to fall short. So, she went with what seemed to work when she explained it to her mother for the fifth time: "I want a completely new start with Lenny. I loved that old apartment, _so much_, but it just seemed like one big coffin shaped box where my marriage died. I care too much about Lenny to let that happen again."

Imogene took a couple minutes to gather her thoughts before replying to Midge's reasoning.

"Well," she grabbed a new pen and pulled off the cap, circling an address with newfound vigor. "I don't know this Lenny Bruce, _yet_, but I can see that he makes you very happy."

"I _am_ happy, Imogene."

"Then we need to find you a place, and-" there was a crashing sound from the sitting room, and Shirley's voice quickly followed, vibrating through the house and rattling the nearby windows. Imogene's eyes widened and she leaned forward to whisper as though Shirley would be able to hear her from across the house, "_We need to get you out of here!"_

Midge laughed at Imogene's whispers, but nodded her head in agreement.

* * *

After days of searching, it was Lenny that ended up finding them the perfect apartment. He called Midge from a payphone just outside the building he'd been looking at in the Upper West Side. He waxed lyrical about a second story and beautiful hardwood floors in a way that Midge never expected to hear.

When Lenny finally managed to get Midge out of Queens to see the place later that afternoon, she wondered why he hadn't mentioned the two-story, floor to ceiling windows. She had been surprised by the neighbourhood he chose, of course, but she was also surprised that there was no mention of the beautiful balcony off the master bedroom.

"I wanted you to be surprised!" He shot back while they stood in the master bedroom. They were looking through the balcony doors at their view of the park. "This apartment is perfect. It is even in your neighbourhood! I couldn't blow the whole load over the phone."

Midge bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from continuing his innuendo.

"Are you sure this is where you want to live? You've never been the Upper West Side, doorman, wife and kids at home, kind of guy." Midge walked around the room a bit, and looked out one of the other windows, and towards the skyline. Their view was beautiful, and she was surprised to find that she was getting a little teary. "I don't want you to have to give up everything for me."

Lenny came up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist. He bent to press a hard kiss to her jawline, then rested his chin on Midge's shoulder. He pressed a more gentle kiss to her neck, making a deep, warm blush rise up her chest to cover her face in red.

"I'm not giving up anything for you, Mrs. Bruce." He paused , and in the meantime, Midge turned in his arms so they could look each other in the eye. "I've never really had anywhere that I could call home before. Even with Honey… that didn't feel right. Then Kitty didn't come along until things had already fallen apart…" His expression was more serious than she had ever seen. There was a mixture of sadness and relief in his eyes that she wasn't expecting. "This neighbourhood makes you feel at home. It will make _our kids_ feel at home too - all three of them. So as long as you don't mind sharing your home with me..."

She wanted to tell him that she hated it. The apartment wasn't for them. They could look a bit longer and find an _okay_ place a little further downtown. Midge had already been married to a man that lied about what he wanted, and he left her for it in the middle of the night. She didn't want this marriage to end the same way.

"I don't want you to have-"

"Midge, do you like the apartment?"

"Of course I do! The apartment is beautiful!"

"Then we will take the apartment." He bent to press his lips resolutely against her slightly agape mouth. "We will build our life here together and I'll be so incredibly happy that I'll be the least funny Jew in the State!"

The landlord took their information and had them fill out what felt like a mountain of paperwork before they left. Lenny was worried that his reputation would ruin their chances of getting the place, but the man they spoke with seemed to be a fan of them both. If anything, the fact that Lenny Bruce would be living in his building was a plus that the man wasn't expecting to get out of the young couple.

"So, now that all of that is done," Lenny lit a cigarette as they stepped outside the building and started down the sidewalk. He offered an arm to Midge, which she gratefully took as they walked. "I'm starving."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: This was not heavily edited! I just wanted to get the chapter out for you guys to read! Let me know if there is anything that should be fixed in the comments below.**

"Now this next performer has been away from us while she was on tour opening for Shy Baldwin! You know her, you've missed her!" Jackie looked over at Midge and Suzy, unable to hide his sleepy smile. "Give it up for our very own Queen of the Upper West Side, Mrs. Maisel!"

The gathered audience clapped and even a couple people 'hooted' out cheers as Midge made her way from the Suzy and the bar, to the stage. She snatched up Jackie's hand for a moment as they passed each other, and gave it a tight squeeze. It was good to be back.

"Well, hello there everybody!" Midge worked the microphone off the stand and threw the cord out of her way. She looked over the audience for people she recognized and allowed herself a moment of nerves at the number of new faces. "My God, is it good to be back home in New York!"

There were a few scattered chuckles through the room, so Midge dove into her vaguely planned talking points for the evening.

"No seriously," Midge held out her hand. "I just moved back to the Upper West Side after living either on the road or in Queens with my ex-husband's parents. Do you know the one thing that makes in-laws worse? When you aren't married to their son anymore."

* * *

_"No, Ethan! Ethan! Ethan!" Abe followed his grandson down the hallway in an effort to get back whatever toy the young boy had unpacked. "Ethan Maisel, I'm speaking to you."_

_Midge and Rose were surrounded by pieces of luggage and packed up cardboard boxes. They only had one more day left to pack, and despite the offer to take the kids for the day, Joel hadn't arrived yet to retrieve them from the chaos. Midge briefly considered asking Lenny, but things with her and Joel were still rocky, and she didn't want to add fuel to an already pretty healthy fire._

_"I don't know why you don't leave the kids here," Shirley huffed again as she stood unhelpfully in the doorway of the kitchen. There were boxes filling the foyer, making it hard to move around._

_"Shirley, could you hand me that pen?" Rose tried to distract the woman fruitlessly; thought she did get her pen._

_"They should be here, with family," Shirley continued to harp. She was now adjusting and re-packing various items while sadly looking at some of the kids toys. "Not in that big empty apartment with whoever the hell it was that you married."_

* * *

"I got remarried when I was on tour," Midge announced with a little more confidence than she was feeling. "It has been an adjustment getting into that frame of mind again y'know? Getting remarried is a bit like when you give your children one of your old toys. The parts are still all there, you just hope they still work."

* * *

_"Honey, I'm home!" Lenny's voice bounced off half-full boxes and poorly stacked books._

_Midge rounded the corner just in time to see him bump into a pile of their records, now intermingled, just like the rest of their lives. She winced as her bare feet left the carpet and made contact with the cold wooden floors of the entryway. She'd cozied up in a thick sweater and her softest pants, while she unpacked, but her shoes were long gone._

_"You were gone for ten minutes," she rolled her eyes, but stood on her toes to kiss his cheek anyway. She grabbed one of the brown paper bags from his hands and ushered him around and over her labyrinth of unpacked items that still needed a home. "The restaurant isn't even that far away."_

_"What the fuck happened in here?" Lenny was trying his best not to laugh at the sheer amount of newly unearthed items strewn across the floorboards and the carpeted floor in the living room. _

_Midge didn't dignify his question with an answer, knowing full well that he knew exactly what had happened. She wanted to feel more settled in their new home, and the most they'd gotten done was moving everything _into_ the apartment. It was just a good thing that the kids weren't home as well, or they would have even more to contend with while trying to put stuff away._

_Their new couches and chairs had yet to arrive, so Midge made herself comfortable on the floor, taking Chinese food boxes and chopsticks out of one of the bags. Lenny was digging around in a couple boxes until he procured some candles and a pack of matches._

_"What's in the other bag?" Midge asked around a mouthful of rice. The second bag was soaking condensation onto the overturned coffee table, just out of her reach. _

_Lenny finished lighting the candles, creating the faintest glow against the lofted windows and large fireplace. He grabbed the bag in question, sat on the floor, and pulled out a six pack of Midge's favourite brand of beer. _

_"Oh," Midge moved her food so she'd have a hand free, reaching out with wiggling fingers for a bottle. "My husband is the best!"_

_They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, drinking each other in between bites of food and sips of beer. The candles crackled slightly around the darkness of the lampless room._

_"Hey, Midge?" Lenny looked up from his food, more serious than she'd ever seen him before. She matched his gaze, knowing deeply that this was a moment she wanted imprinted on her mind forever. Distantly, she wished for a camera to record this moment, and wondered if going to get one would ruin the mood. "I love you, honey."_

_"I love you too, Lenn."_

* * *

She tip-toed around her relationship with Lenny like it was a mine waiting to be set off. There were traps set around every letter of his name, and the cheese was every single detail of their lives together. The moment Midge caught herself getting up while he was still asleep, only to lay back down when she realised that she didn't care if he saw her with rollers and face cream. And the morning he woke up first, and cooked her pancakes, even attempting animal shapes for Ethan and Esther.

She didn't share those details though; not all of them at least.

"You know what the most shocking part of waking up married in Las Vegas, in a hotel room filled with yellow teddy bears after a drunken bender with your best friend while on tour with Shy Baldwin is?" Midge rushed through the words, not even quite sure herself if she was making sense, but having practiced it with Lenny this morning, knew that it sounded funnier the faster she was able to make the words come out. She paused long enough that she was able to get two laughs and a thumbs up from Suzy. "The most shocking part; the part that really is like a kick in the ass," another pause, another laugh. "My parents love_ him_. And I don't just mean that my father gets along with him and my mother laughs at his joke during dinner parties. They _love_ him."

* * *

_"I think you should get pregnant again."_

_They had been sitting in a comfortable silence before Rose's sudden suggestion. They both had magazines to look through, often turning the pages towards each other for opinions and comments. Midge lowered her magazine to look at her mother, mouth slightly agape. Rose's face was still blocked by her's, clearly deciding that her comment was no big deal._

_"I'm sorry?" Midge must have misheard her, or imagined what her mother just suggested. _

_"You're still young, married to a lovely, handsome man…" Rose was still hiding behind her magazine pages. "Three before thirty, I've always told you that."_

_"Mama…"_

_"Just something to keep in mind!" She turned her page and shrugged her shoulders. "It would be a shame to waste such beautiful features."_

* * *

"We both have kids from our first marriages," Midge danced across the small stage with more vigor than she'd had before. The audience was giving her a new wave of energy that she was sure got packed away with her hats. "So we're already a packed household, and yet I feel that itch, you know? Well, women know anyway. Sometimes I look at his happy smile, or I watch him playing with our little girls at the park, and I think, 'we don't need a guest room'."

There was a woman at one of the front tables laughing until she snorted. Her hand was up over her face, but Midge zeroed in on her right away.

"Do you have kids?" The woman nodded her head through her laughs, then held up four fingers. Midge made a sound of pain, making the woman's laughter start up again. "So you know what I'm talking about then. You were closed for business after they gave you a little less drugs for the second birth, then your husband fixed a pipe, or you saw him shaving one morning and thought, 'they make bunk beds'." The woman in the audience gestured to one of the good looking men she was sitting with as an example that she knew exactly what Midge was going through.

* * *

_This was a new experience for Midge. No matter how long she and Joel were together for, she can hardly recall more than a handful of times that she was present for his morning routine. Watching Lenny shave in their bathroom mirror was now her new favourite way to start the day._

_Normally, she would have been off to the races with prepping the kids for the day, or sneaking off to do up her own face and make breakfast before her husband was even out of bed. Now, however, that had changed, and just a few days in, she already liked this morning more than all the others. _

_"God, this stuff is everywhere!" Lenny flicked some of Midge's face cream off of his hand over the bathroom sink. "How is this contained, and yet on every single surface?"_

_Midge sat on the vanity, still in her nighty, and still in rollers. Lenny had kindly decided to stay undressed while they got ready for the day together. He had shaving cream all over his face as he leaned over the sink to clear away the dark hair that had grown overnight._

_She leaned back against the large mirror and watched as he methodically swiped away at his cheekbones and strong jawline. She moved her eyes down, and down, then lingered until he cleared his throat to get her attention. He'd kept glancing at her as he went, watching her as she watched him back. _

_"If you keep looking at me like that, we aren't going to get anything done today."_

_"I could be up for that," she glanced down again and raised an eyebrow, then met his eyes._

_Lenny shook his head and turned back to the mirror. They both knew that Midge staying in the bathroom would just lead to no good, so she shifted in an effort to hop down to the floor. He placed a hand on her waist, to help, she thought. But instead, he leaned in and pressed a shaving cream covered kiss to her lips. He tasted like toothpaste and the chemical's that were spread across both of them. _

_"Go back to bed, I'll be there soon," his words were low and filled with purpose. Midge felt a giddy excitement and a newfound want to leave the bathroom. Just as she was about to flop herself back onto their bed, Lenny stuck his head out the ensuite door. "Maybe clean that shit off your face though, yeah?"_

* * *

"Well, that's it for me tonight!" Midge walked back to centre stage and shoved the microphone back onto the stand. "You've been a lovely distraction from the moving and my parents, but I have a handsome husband to get back to, and apparently some eggs to fertilize!" She smiled through her final laugh of the night. "I'm still sort-of Mrs. Maisel! Thank you, and good night!"


	12. Chapter 12

There was a familiar buzz in the air. A buzz that was better than most high's Lenny had ever felt in his life. The feeling he'd been trying to chase at the end of each joint; at the lift of his head after a line... It was the sticky, warm feeling that kept him coming back to the stage and the crowds. On his darkest days, it used to be the only thing that kept him going.

"Now, the man you're all here for," the host of the evening was just cheesy enough. _Upstairs at the Downstairs_ was big enough that they didn't really need someone to help the audience along, but this guy knew how to win over a late-night crowd. "Help me welcome to the stage, Lenny Bruce!"

Lenny finished off the drink that he had been milking away at all night, then made his way up onto the stage. The gathered crowd was large and looking at him with anticipation. He was still getting used to that part; the knowledge of enjoyment that coloured their faces. Even the officers awaiting his first vulgarity look as though they were already enjoying themselves. He recognized them and knew that they might just let him get a little farther than usual, if only to hear the punchline to the joke they interrupted last week.

"Now see here, you're all just a little _too _excited," Lenny gazed out over everyone. "I'm not saying you shouldn't be, because obviously I'm a very interesting man," people were laughing already, but he could pick out the people that just _thought_ they should be laughing. "But if my wife hears about this, she's going to be wondering what I do up on this stage when she isn't watching."

* * *

_The apartment was nearly quiet when he finally managed to step through the door. A little later than he wanted to get home, but the rain made it nearly impossible to get a cab home after his set downtown. In the past he would have just given up and walked, but he did not live close enough to any of the clubs for that to make sense anymore._

_He stepped out of his shoes as quietly as possible but found that it was pointless as soon as he rounded the corner to see that the kitchen light was still on. Midge was sitting quickly at the table, flipping through a magazine, and picking away at leftovers and a glass of wine. She was wearing his favourite nightdress; it was a deep, powdery pink. _

"_You didn't have to wait up for me, honey." He leaned down to give her waiting lips a kiss, being careful of the curlers framing her face. Pulling back slightly, he smiled at her, then glanced towards the brisket she was eating. "You do have to share some of that though."_

"_Good gig?" She asked around a bite of food._

"_Well, I didn't get arrested…"_

* * *

Lenny didn't actually talk about his personal life on stage too often. He made vague references and compared goings-ons in the world to things that 'he' might have experienced. Unless something was already in the public eye, he did not normally wish to bring it into the world for people to critique. He was happy though, and there was a strangely unselfish part of him that wanted his audience to know that things could get better; they did for Lenny.

"So, I got remarried a few months ago," a few of the men in the audience made different variations of a groaning noise. "It isn't something I ever thought I would do again, but much like a murderer going in for another kill, I just had to give into the urge."

He knew he had them. Any person sitting out in the crowd of tables, chairs, and spilled drinks, had their attention rapt on the stage. He knew that the joke would play well with this group. There was a slightly higher class of people that came here, and they appreciated a different kind of joke to the ones he played at places with worse lighting.

"Both of us came into the marriage with kids of our own. She had a little boy and a girl, and I had a daughter that was the only good thing I've actually created in the past decade," he walked across the small stage for a few steps, then stopped to look out at a different group of drunkards. "I've been told that I didn't have _that much_ to do with the production, but I wouldn't be a man if I didn't take the credit, right?" The women in the audience laughed, the men decidedly did not.

* * *

_Lenny never thought he would get to have this experience. It was never in the cards for him before. _

_The idea that he would someday be having a picnic in Central Park with his family was a far-flung dream, a fantasy. But here he was on a sunny autumn day, probably the last halfway warm day of the year… sitting on a picnic blanket with grape jam smeared on one of his knees. _

_And his two daughters giggling endlessly._

_They had been so excited to see the ducks that they ignored all else in the world. Midge was laying back with a smile on her face, eating the last bit of her own sandwich and Ethan was trying fruitlessly to get his kite up into the windless sky._

"_Don't say anything," Midge said without even looking in Lenny's direction. "He'll be tired when he gets home, that's enough for me. Besides," she sat up slightly and looked towards Ethan's continued efforts. "He seems to be having a good time."_

_A few minutes later, Kitty and Esther both toddled over and flopped over on the blanket. They'd been chasing ducks for the better part of an hour and had evidently decided that their efforts were just as fruitless as their brother's were. Esther's head nestled into Lenny's shoulder, while Kitty's hand wrapped as much as it could around Midge's arm. _

_Later that night, Midge was rubbing some lotion across her arms while Lenny flipped back and forth through her notebook. 'Fuck, she's funny', he thought to himself as he put little blue stars next to his favourite jokes and observations. He had just been reading over an antidote about a dinner she went to with some of her old B. Altman friends when Midge interrupted his reading:_

"_We should have another."_

* * *

"If you knew my wife, you would know that she's a force to be reckoned with on even her worst day," there were a couple familiar faces standing over near the bar, so Lenny gave them a smile and a wink. "Actually, on her worst day she's probably even scarier. But that's part of what attracted me to her anyway. Like a month to the flame I radiated around that woman if only because I wanted to know how she did it. How she kept beating this broken-down system we call life."

He could feel it the moment she walked in the room. Midge was with Noah and Astrid, waiting for him to finish his set so they could all have a late dinner, almost early breakfast. With the new baby Noah was itching to get out of the house for the night, and Astrid was always happy to come along for what she was sure was going to be an adventure.

A few people seemed to notice her, and he could not help but be proud. Despite everything, the fact that there were people whispering about her excitedly set his heart a little bit on fire. They were not planning on coming out with their relationship at least until the new year, which was still a couple months away, but her appearance and recognition might just blow that plan.

"When we moved into our new apartment, on the Upper West Side at her request," he rolled his eyes with minimal effort. He really did not mind living in a nicer neighbourhood. He also didn't mind knowing that he would be getting to come home to a family at the end of a hard day or night. "I didn't realise my new in-laws would be coming along for the journey. Now, I like these people though. Her father and myself actually get along really well, and if I were an older man, I might have tried to lure her mother away instead."

* * *

_Abe had been click-clacking away at a typewriter for weeks now. There were balls of crumpled up papers at his feet and pen marks from correcting mistakes on his hands. Zelda was always trailing behind him to pick up the papers and clean bruise coloured smudges off surfaces. It was frankly a little terrifying._

"_Do you think this is a good line?" He asked this out loud, and most times never got an answer, but one day, when their wives and children were away, Lenny asked:_

"_What's the line?"_

_Abe tried to hide just how shocked he was when he got a reply to his question. He had spent ages already expecting no answer, and perhaps not actually wanting one. Lenny had heard the question before. As a comic, you hear different variations on it a lot. His father-in-law seemed passionate about the writing he was doing though, not like the amateur comedians that just wanted to ask so that they could brag about Lenny Bruce thinking they were funny._

"_The political and societal issues put in place and perpetrated by the last regime-"_

"_Regime is a harsh word." Lenny interrupted._

"_It is meant to be harsh."_

_Lenny nodded his head, then stood up from the armchair he had been inhabiting for most of the afternoon. "Then continue. I'll grab us some drinks." _

* * *

"This may be the first gig I've gotten all the way through in a long time," Lenny turned slightly towards the police officers in the back and looked at them. The words were _true_, but they rang true enough to his audience. He usually tried not to bullshit them too much but telling them that he had been cooped up at home and enjoying time with his family didn't really fit the full image. "Thank you, boys! You must be fans of my wife too!"

The officers gave a little wave of appreciation, then turned to head out the door. Lenny briefly considered saying something that would make them turn around but decided that Midge was looking far too good to jeopardize missing out on their night without the kids.

"And with that, I bid you all a fond farewell. Some of you may have noticed a very handsome man waiting for me in the audience," he winked down at Noah, who blushed furiously and tried to hide his face. "Catch me for my second appearance on the Steve Allen show in a couple weeks! I'm Lenny Bruce, goodnight."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I kind of really love this chapter? I don't know... as soon as I came up with the idea for it, I really blew through the whole thing! Let me know what you think!**

* * *

Doing interviews was no longer a foreign activity to Midge. Being on tour with Shy actually meant that she was being interviewed for newspapers and women's magazines all over the country. If a media outlet wasn't part of the press hoard that got to interview Shy, she was usually their next call. The women's magazines especially wanted to speak with her, thinking they could get the inside scoop on tour life that wasn't given by the men.

When _The New Yorker_ came knocking though, it had been over four months since Midge had to put on her interview face and make nice with the press. There was still no news of the European leg of Shy's tour, but she'd been steadily doing gigs and Suzy was making a lot of connections. She was getting herself out there, and making sure her face was known. They went to a lot of Lenny's shows, and ate lunch at _The Stage_ at least once a week… _The Gaslight_ had been busier than ever.

"So, Mrs. Maisel," the woman that was interviewing her, Kathy, sat across from her with a bright smile and a beautiful hat that Midge wanted to ask her about later. "Should I call you that, or do you prefer something else?"

"Oh, Midge is fine! Mrs. Maisel is just my stage name." Midge waved it off, then answered the question she already knew was coming, just out of habit. "I'm not even a Maisel anymore actually, but I got to keep the name in the divorce."

"So you're a divorcee then?" She wrote this information down as though it was breaking news. Midge furrowed her brow at the woman, wondering how likely it was that she'd never heard of Midge before getting this assignment. "That's interesting."

"Anyone that comes to one of my shows would know that though. It comes up a lot in my act; kids, ex husband, family stuff. I talk about what I keep in my purse, so clearly nothing is off limits."

Kathy took these words into consideration. She nodded her head and scribbled some words on her pad of paper again. Midge looked over at Suzy, who was sitting at the bar with Jackie.

"How do you balance that? Single mother and going out all hours of the night to do your comedy?" Midge bristled a bit at the woman's tone. From the corner of her eyes she saw Suzy straighten up, ready to draw blood if needed.

"Well their father watches them, and my parents. They are all very supportive of my work. I got remarried over the summer as well, and as long as he isn't working he will stay home with them too. I usually don't leave until they're already asleep, then I get back before they wake up," Midge tried to laugh it all off. "They don't even know I'm gone most nights."

"Mhm…" Clearly Midge wasn't giving this woman what she wanted. It made her a little nervous about what could possibly be next. "And what of these rumours about you and Lenny Bruce having a salacious affair?"

BINGO

She was looking for a scoop. She was hoping that this conversation would get her some sort of juicy detail that would either give her bigger interviews in the future, or maybe even a promotion. Unfortunately for her, Midge had been dodging comments and questions about Lenny for the better part of two years. Whenever people even hinted at his name, she had a list of excuses and reasons to use in order to avoid the topic altogether.

"Lenny Bruce and I have never had an affair, salacious or otherwise."

She had a gig later that night at Joel's club. He and Suzy had drawn up a contract and everything, saying that Midge would perform at least once every two weeks when she was in town. The flexibility was unheard of, and Joel didn't actually hold her to anything, but Suzy was proud to have gotten some of her own contract writing practice in during the process. Even with the tour, Reggie's team had dealt with the contract writing while Suzy and Midge made amendments where they saw fit.

"So, I got interviewed by _The New Yorker_ earlier today," Midge told the audience. She'd gone over the beats of the story with Lenny before leaving for the show. He'd found the whole thing rather funny, and much like her, was ready for the cat to just come out of the bag already. "It was the first interview I've had while home that was actually done by a woman. I was so excited when I saw her walk into _The Gaslight_. She had a gorgeous hat on, that no matter how the interview went, I knew I had to ask her about."

The audience laughed, riveted from the moment she grabbed the microphone. She recognized some of them, and was happy to see that Joel had some regular customers. It would be easier to tell this story with some familiar faces, and a group that actually wanted to hear what she had to say.

"Let's say the interview was shorter than expected. She wasn't so much interested in me as a comedian, but interested in me as a _female_ comedian." Midge glanced over at the bar and saw Suzy looking as unimpressed as usual, which must mean she was doing well. "Instead of asking me any of the normal interview-type questions, she wanted to know how I got to where I am now. How much or who did I have to do in order to get on the tour with Shy, and also headline venues like this fine establishment."

Joel raised his drink to her from his spot near Suzy at the bar. The women in the audience were nodding in understanding. Even if they weren't in the same industry as Midge, they could relate to the problem she'd faced earlier.

"You know what she really wanted to know about? Lenny Bruce."

There was a chatter among the crowd. Suzy and Joel looked at each other in confusion. She hadn't told them that she was about to drop this bomb, but it had gone on too far. _The New Yorker_ prodding her about the situation just showed that there was no reason to hide it anymore. She brushed it off with Kathy earlier, but that was just because she didn't want to give the nosy woman what she wanted. Midge and Lenny were going to tell the story themselves.

"All of this came about, I'm sure some of you know, after Lenny opened for me at _The Gaslight_ one night. I'd been blackballed after I trash talked Sophie Lennon very publicly on stage," the whooping and cheering brought a smile to her face even bigger than the one that she'd already been sporting. "After that, her manager made sure that no one would hire me for a gig. At one point, even _The Gaslight_ wasn't allowed to let me do shows."

Walking across the stage, she ran a hand over a wrinkle near her waist. She did this sometimes, pretending to be distracted by something so small while the audience laughed, or absorbed her words.

"I'm not sure how many of you know this, but a few months before that, my husband left me. That guy over there, actually," She pointed the mic towards Joel and smiled. The part of the audience that was new to her comedy looked shocked that she would call him out like that. "Nah, we're both a lot happier now than we were together."

There was no falsity in her words, even where there used to be… at a different time.

"Anyway, the night the owner of this place, Joel," she pointed again. "Left me, I drank a bottle of wine, stumbled into _The Gaslight_, walked up on the stage like I owned the place and 'performed'. It wasn't so much a performance as public disgrace and humiliation, but Suzy saw something in me that night. I was boozy and sad, and angry that my soon-to-be ex-husband left me. More mad that he seemed to choose a career in comedy over the life we had together..." She turned the mic on Suzy then, loving how the audience would turn to look at who she was pointing at in the back of the room. "Long story short, I got thrown into the back of a Police car for indecent exposure. I still don't think that actually happened… but a lot of people have assured me that it did."

Midge loved the wave of laughter that flooded the room at that joke. She loved it even more the second time around, when for the fourth time, she pointed the mic towards the bar.

"Who was in that Police car already? Lenny Bruce. Lenny did me the favour of opening for me a few months later to repay me for bailing him out the morning after we were arrested together. I asked him if he loved comedy, he told me that he'd literally rather do anything else." There was more she could say. So much more that goes into the story that she _wanted _to share with people, but now wasn't the time. Maybe she would write something about it? "We kept running into each other. A jazz club here, a dirty bar there, and one time I stood backstage for him when he did _The Steve Allen Show_. He even came to visit me when I was on tour with Shy, and he saw that we both happened to be in Vegas."

The next act was standing near the stage, and Midge almost felt bad about the fact that he was going to have to follow her after this. He looked nervous, and she was certain she'd never seen him before, but hopefully he wasn't too new to the comedic scene.

As if a gift from heaven, a woman shouted out from the shadows just as Midge was about to open her mouth to drop the bomb: "So you didn't sleep with him?"

"See, that's the thing. _I did not have an affair with Lenny Bruce_," she put the mic back on the stand and looked down at her feet for a moment. Then, with the biggest, shit-eating grin she could manage: "I married him in Vegas, _then_ I slept with him."

The room exploded.


End file.
